What do I want to be remembered for?

To expand on that Vox article about how to make difficult decisions in life which outlined that it’s really about knowing the type of person you want to be known for and the type of life you want to lead. In other words, difficult decisions such as choosing a spouse or a career require one to know thyself for our choices ultimately shape the person we become. 

To ponder the question of what I want to be remembered for, I think I want to be remembered for being a learned person. I want to be known for being a nonconformist and living a life that I am proud of, not that there’s anything wrong with conformity. I just don’t feel that my past experiences have taught me that conformity is a choice that I will be happy with. I will learn to embrace the unknown and accept that my life may not consist of having children, which I’m okay with. 

It’s interesting because growing up, I had this idea that if you worked hard and followed all the rules that somehow you would end up with a well-paying job that could support a family. That’s not necessarily how modern society and adulthood, for that matter, work. An aspect that many people tend to neglect is the meaning of it all. Most people, at least when we’re young, just focus on the salary and prestige of any given job. I certainly did. Yet, the purpose and enjoyment components of a profession is not trivial, and could be critical to living a fulfilling and happy life. The money, as long as it’s enough, is actually not that important.